April 25, 2014

The biggest steel producer of
Japan, Kobe Steel’snew hot-metal
treatment plant has gone into operation in April at its Kakogawa Works in
western Japan. The company previously announced that it would construct the
facility to improve the production system at Kakogawa to expand sales of
high-end “Only One” steel products and increase its cost competitiveness. Kobe
Steel has world-class technologies for producing high value-added steel
products, but also raw material processing and iron unit production including
pellets, direct reduced iron, and the ITmk3® iron making process.

Hot-metal
treatment is a process to remove impurities—sulfur and phosphorus—in the molten
iron. The high-end steel products, such as special steel wire rod and bar,
automotive high-strength steel sheet, and steel plate for the energy sector
etc. produced by Kobe Steel or any steel plant, require a high degree of
cleanliness. To produce these steels, hot-metal treatment is an essential
process.

The new hot-metal treatment plant has two Kanbara
reactors for desulfurization and one dephosphorization furnace. The Kanbara
reactor uses a stirring method to desulfurize molten iron. An impeller stirs
the molten iron and the agitation removes the sulfur. The new plant, together
with existing equipment, enable nearly all of the molten iron to undergo
hot-metal treatment and will enable Kobe Steel to further increase the
production capacity of high-end Only One products.

The new hot-metal
treatment plant increases the reaction efficiency during desulfurization and
dephosphorization, thereby reducing the consumption of auxiliary materials for
refining and improving yield. According to an estimation the new facility will
enable Kakogawa Works to save approximately 6 billion yen annually. Striving to
strengthen the competitiveness of its steelworks, Kobe Steel is working to
raise its presence in the market and increase its profitability.

Details of Kobe Steel’s new hot-metal treatment plant at
Kakogawa Works

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